New London man crushed by trash compacter dies

New London — A 59-year-old city resident died Thursday as the result of injuries he sustained after toppling into a trash compacter at the city's transfer station.

The incident occurred at 2:32 p.m., when police and emergency medical personnel were called to the transfer station at 45 Lewis St. There they found the man's body lodged in the hopper of the compacter, according to New London Deputy Police Chief Peter Reichard.

Fire department personnel were able to pull the man from the hopper but he had already suffered traumatic injuries. He was taken to Lawrence + Memorial Hospital and pronounced deceased a short time later.

Police said they interviewed witnesses to the incident and were joined at the scene by an investigator from the state Department of Labor's Division of Occupational Safety and Health. The transfer station is maintained by the city's Department of Public Works.

The man's identity is being withheld pending notification to his family, Reichard said. Officials said he was not a city employee.

An autopsy will be conducted at the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to officially determine the cause and manner of death.